Ever went back to work for former employer?

AmandaR · August 1, 2008

Hi ladies,

Have any of you ever went back to work for a former employer? I ask because this is a serious consideration for me right now. For a variety of reasons I am unhappy with my new job and know that I made a HUGE mistake in leaving my last employer. Luckily, I emailed my former supervisor and it turns out they would love to have me return and are working out the logistics. If everything works out, I'll be back to just a 10 min commute every morning and won't have to pay tolls! It will mean a paycut and a lower position than I left with, but at this point it seems like a terrific viable option.

Has anyone done this before?

beachbride08 · August 1, 2008

I have. My company was going from being publicly traded to private equity and restructuring. The position that I was in was going to be changing and not for the better. They were actually taking away a lot of my responsibilities and I'd be taking a step backward. My manager and his boss both recommended me for a promotion, but since they were not handling anything with the restructure they had no control over who got placed in which position. I ended up getting hired by one of our clients and was there for 6 months. I kept in contact with everyone I worked with and they said the restructure was a complete mess and the people that they hired were not doing a good job and everyone was unhappy. They all threatened to leave unless something was done. They ended up firing a lot of the people they brought in because they were not performing, and the person that was put in charge of placing people did not put people in their proper positions. They ended up restructuring the whole team and promoted the right people. They offered me a nice package to come back at the position I should have been put in before so I decided to return. I had some leverage because they knew the reasons why I left, and I was a top performer. I liked the people I worked with at the new job, and got raise and higher level position than where I was at. I didn't really like the culture of the new company and didn't feel like I was learning much even though I was in a higher level position. I knew I would learn more going back to my prior company, and I have been back for almost 2 years.

However, I no longer like what I'm doing and am currently looking for a career change. I plan on looking for a new job next year once things settle down after the wedding.

My advice to is if you can handle the pay cut and will be happy in the job they are offering you I would go back. Sometimes the grass is not always greener on the other side.

ErinB · August 1, 2008

I have. I think a lot depends on why you are going back. If you will be in a more stable/comfortable/friendly/satisfying workplace, I say go for it!

There is nothing worse than hating your job and dreading going to work in the morning.

I had a job I left because I didn't get along with the supervisor. I did end up going back because I loved my students and co-workers, but my supervisor was just not going to make it easy for anyone to work for her.